Pentagon fires Stars and Stripes editor and publisher

journalismAug 21, 2026342,207

The Pentagon fired Stars and Stripes editor-in-chief Erik Slavin on Aug. 21 after the department charged him with insubordination following a CBS interview in which he said hypothetical censorship would "constitute a red line" and asserted the paper "must remain editorially independent." The department also dismissed publisher Max Lederer and Middle East reporter Lara Korte; Korte said her firing followed remarks to a CBS reporter that she works for Stars and Stripes, not the Pentagon or policymakers. The moves follow the Pentagon's earlier removal of the newspaper's ombudsman and come as Stars and Stripes says roughly half its funding comes from the Defense Department while its site affirms governance by First Amendment principles. National Press Club President Mark Schoeff Jr. called Slavin's dismissal "another brazen attempt by the Pentagon to dictate coverage of the military" and urged reversal, and Will Creeley of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression labeled the firings an "ugly, un-American attack on our free press." News outlets reported the actions amid ongoing lawsuits tied to the Defense Department's 2025 press policy and recent book removals. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Lee West

@whodat35.bsky.social

Please take a moment and read Lara Korte’s last story that she filed for Stars and Stripes published 3 hours ago. Thank you Lara for your professional dedication and journalistic values. www.stripes.com/branches/nav...

Lara Korte O @lara_korte
X.com

Today, I was informed that the Department of Defense is firing me for insubordination after I told a CBS reporter that I work for Stars and Stripes - not the Pentagon, not any administration, and not any policy maker.
3:29 PM • 8/21/26 • 155K Views

Lara Korte
@lara_korte • 1h
I consider it a great privilege to live alongside members of the military and share their stories. It's a shame for the institution and service members, who swore to defend the Constitution and deserve right to a free and independent press.

10394h ago

Richard Clary8

Big story. The Pentagon under Hegseth has no desire for a free press. Is there any means to remove him other than resignation or Trump. Was Hegseth really partisan campaigning in Iowa this week? It seems difficult to run for President after losing a war to Iran.

janepor00325520.bsky.social6

Thank you, Ms. Korte. Please take a look at the independent journalism sites where you can continue to tell your story.

SkynetAndChill.com5

Love the Constitution so much they use it for toilet paper in their bathroom

The Omnibro5

They said they were gonna use their ombudsman in congress to help with Pete’s unhinged demands guess that didn’t work. Time for the rest to follow it can’t be trusted now.

Toby Bartels4

Awful. But now I want to know who's going to run @starsandstripes.bsky.social now? (and how?).

eddie0028.bsky.social1

The 86taco47 administration considers the truth an enemy. I said in November of 24 that criticism will be considered a criminal offense now so is truth. And yes I'm praying for him to die

Quoting this

Ambassador (ret.) Janet Sanderson16

Insubordination in a journalist? Exactly what does that even mean? The boys in Hegseth’s DOD are way out of control and getting worse. If that’s even possible.

Melissa Jo Peltier8

The Trump administration HATES the men & women who make up the military. They are simply chess pieces to Hegseth & co.

Karen Langsam3

🧵Lee is right. Read Korte’s last words. Heartbreaking ⬇️

Eugene Freedman3

Wrong charge: insubordination is failure to follow a lawful order from someone w authority to issue the order. But, federal employees have been stripped of their rights & I suspect a vapid Merit Systems Protection Board will not care if management can actually establish the elements of the charge.

The Creatively Maladjusted3

Click through, show the paper through their analytics that they fired someone valuable.

Brian Stelter

@brianstelter.bsky.social

In a blow to press freedoms within the US military, the Pentagon has forced out several top staffers at Stars & Stripes, the military publication with a long record of editorial independence. Full story: www.cnn.com/2026/08/21/m...

1994h ago

RJ 🇺🇦🇦🇺8

Mrs Hegseth is likely behind this, trying to shore up her incompetent husband's tanking reputation. www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...

smithjohnny.bsky.social7

This is what happens in communist countries. Muting the press.

jimrissmiller.bsky.social7

When you fear accurate, unbiased reporting … you’re no different than Russia or China or North Korea.

Ivo Knobloch6

Part of trying to control what those thousands of US sailors, marines, soldiers, pilots of the Lincoln and Tripoli are going to say when they come ashore … trying to imagine when kind of career ending intimidation debriefing campaign is already taking place …

PC Sherry🦋5

Hegseth wants to get rid of anyone who disagrees with the regime. And anyone who is smarter than him. There won’t be a soul in the military.

LocoRunner5

Saw this coming. This administration prefers to work in darkness - like the cockroaches they are.

Quoting this

Stephen Gutowski166

All this authoritarian nonsense projects is brittleness. It says our military is so damn weak that it can't handle any level of criticism. It's a really bad sign about what's going on there.

MJW5

Stars & Stripes is a great publication that more people should pay attention to. This is a huge blow to press freedom and good reporting from an in the military pov.

Daniel Ahmad

@zhugeex.com

Just so people understand how bad it’s getting, Stars and Stripes is a US Military newspaper inside the DOD. It’s literally made up of people who spend their days legitimizing the existence of the military. Now even they are facing the repercussions for not doing propaganda well enough.

2214h ago

Daniel Ahmad77

“Um, despite being funded by the Pentagon they’re actually independent and fair journalists” Yeh, they’re independent in the same way Fox News or CBS under Bari Weiss is.

Kelly

@broadwaybabyto.bsky.social

Punishing and eliminating the free press is a hallmark of fascism. Journalists work for their respective outlets and they simply cover the Pentagon. They can’t work for the Pentagon … that would make them state sanctioned media. Lara’s firing should enrage & terrify everyone.

1204h ago

Phillipe Copeland, PhD1

If the press isn't free, then neither are we

Quoting this

Leah10

oooof shit is going real sideways in our military

Stars and Stripes

@starsandstripes.bsky.social

The Pentagon on Friday moved to fire the editor-in-chief of Stars and Stripes as well as its retiring publisher and a civilian reporter who covers the Middle East for the news organization. Read more: www.stripes.com/theaters/us/... #Flashes

From left: Stars and Stripes Publisher Max D. Lederer Jr., Editor-in-Chief Erik Slavin and reporter Lara Korte. (Stars and Stripes)

694h ago

CascadiaCoug11

Oh did fragile Pete get upset about you printing facts?

Meertext8

What a pity. But how can Pentagon fire editor and reporter, when Stars and Stripes is an independant magazine?

Cutter7

Let me fix that for you: The Pentagon Friday moved to open themselves up for not one, not two, but THREE wrongful termination lawsuits.

JbTstorm7

This is terrible news. I appreciated your news and stories. Now I'm afraid it will all be propaganda. Fair skies and following seas.🫡

phelpywoo.bsky.social3

I’m so sorry this happened. I guess like CBS News it’s time to unfollow and block this account. Thank you for what you have done. RIP 🪦

Topkick753

For having the temerity to tell the truth?

Quoting this

James J.2

“Stars & Stripes will be custom tailored to our warfighters. It will focus on warfighting, weapons systems, fitness, lethality, survivability, and ALL THINGS MILITARY. No more repurposed DC gossip columns; no more Associated Press reprints.” — Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell

Trust Me, I’m an Art Major2

“I stand by the principle that Stars and Stripes must remain editorially independent, as required by law and by the department’s own policies,” he said in a statement Friday.

Ryan Goodman

@rgoodlaw.bsky.social

3/ Earlier lawsuit filed by Stars & Stripes advisory board members on First Amendment and other grounds: www.justsecurity.org/107087/track... Earlier lawsuit filed by fired Ombudsman on First Amendment grounds: www.justsecurity.org/107087/track...

914h ago

Connie Schultz

@connieschultz.bsky.social

The Trump administration’s efforts to suppress factual reporting of the U.S. military continue. Pentagon Fires Editor and Publisher of Independent Military Publication www.nytimes.com/2026/08/21/u...

631h ago

Don Comer

@doncomer.bsky.social

The editor for Stars & Stripes was canned for reporting on the horrid conditions on the USS Abraham Lincoln. In this case, loose lips tried to SAVE a ship.

614h ago

Peter Baker

@peterbakernyt.bsky.social

Trump's Pentagon fires the publisher and editor in chief of Stars and Stripes about 10 days after the military newspaper reported on hardships that Navy sailors were facing on the USS Abraham Lincoln. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/21/u...

431h ago

Quoting this

Patrick De Klotz6

He doesn’t care about those who are serving. Kelly tried to warn us.

The Washington Post

@washingtonpost.com

The Pentagon fired the publisher and the editor in chief of Stars and Stripes, the military newspaper funded by the Department of Defense that has long enjoyed editorial independence from the government.

474h ago

memphismanatee.bsky.social3

Terrible news. That paper was a staple of my time in service. Now it'll be turned in to a propaganda rag.

nicegitch.bsky.social2

Freedom of speech defenders strangely silent.

Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò

@olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social

"The Defense Department on Friday fired the publisher and the editor in chief of Stars and Stripes, a government-funded news outlet that reports on the U.S. military..." Seems significant, but hard to tell these days. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/21/u...

321h ago

HuffPost

@huffpost.com

“The Pentagon’s public affairs office has charged me with insubordination,” top editor Erik Slavin said.

134h ago

Simon Marks

@simonmarksfsn.bsky.social

Days after Stars and Stripes’ coverage of the crisis aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln was setting the pace for others to follow.

304h ago

Ellsworth Green

@greenellsworth.bsky.social

Please Everyone! Our Sacred Stars and Stripes is under attack!!!!!! You made a difference with the USS Lincoln, You can make a difference with the Stars and Stripes. Tell Trump to fuck off!

184h ago

WildPartyInviteDecliner

@ratelimitexceeder.bsky.social

Seems like there's fairly high odds Star and Stripes dug up some info about the war that Trump doesn't want anyone to know about.

184h ago

3 sources

usatoday.comPentagon fires Stars and Stripes editor after censorship comments washingtonpost.comPentagon fires Stars and Stripes leaders who criticized DOD’s interference theguardian.comPentagon reportedly fires publisher and editor of US military news outlet Stars & Stripes

Pentagon fires Stars and Stripes editor and publisherjournalism

Pentagon fires Stars and Stripes editor and publisher

Related